Emmanuel Esterlin, a driver with Alliance Cab, claimed in a sworn affidavit that taxicab investigator Ronnie Blake attempted to handcuff him Oct. 23 for illegally parking on Dauphine Street. When Esterlin resisted, he said, Blake pepper sprayed him sending the cab driver to the hospital.

Attorney Tom Shlosman, who represents Bosma and Esterlin, said the two incidents show a pattern of abuse by city employees who are supposed to write citations, not use physical force or weapons to detain people.

"It is our position that these investigators have no more authority than a meter maid," Shlosman said. "They are employed to enforce the city's ordinances. It is NOPD's responsibility to handle any extreme situation or circumstance."

"No one in the United States has the legal authority to detain a citizen for anything other than a criminal offense," said Quatrevaux, who is investigating the Bosma incident.

The city did not immediately respond to request for comment but in an audio recording of a meeting between Esterlin and Taxicab Bureau Director Malachi Hull, Hull can be heard disputing the driver's version of events and defending Blake's actions.

In his affidavit, Esterlin said he was parked illegally on the left side of Dauphine Street when Blake approached him and asked for his permit and license. Esterlin said he at first refused, asking Blake to do him a favor and let him go, but eventually handed Blake the documents through the window of his vehicle. Blake, holding a pair of handcuffs, then demanded that Esterlin step out of the cab and face the wall, according to the affidavit.

Esterlin said he stepped out of the vehicle but refused to be handcuffed. He said he told Blake he gave him everything he needed to write him a citation for parking illegally. At that point, Esterlin said he walked down the block away from his vehicle with Blake following close behind.

"Blake got very loud and tried to place my hands behind my back," Esterlin said in his affidavit. "I kept him from placing my hands behind my back and at that point Blake pulled out pepper spray and sprayed me directly in my face and head. After he sprayed me I swung at him with my eyes closed. I know I hit him but I don't know where. The pepper spray brought me to my knees and Blake then put his knee in my back and handcuffed me."

Esterlin was taken to the emergency room at LSU Health Center where he was treated for injuries sustained from the pepper spray. He was then taken to Orleans Parish Prison where he faces a charge of battery.

Esterlin's case is set to be heard Dec. 10 in Municipal Court. His taxicab permit is suspended pending the outcome of his case.

Esterlin met with Hull Nov. 5 and in an audio recording of the meeting made by Esterlin, Hull disputed the cab driver's version of the story.

Hull said the general manager of the Hyatt French Quarter sent him a video of the incident. The footage, Hull said, showed Esterlin repeatedly refusing to give Blake his permit and license and attempting to punch the taxicab inspector several times before Blake was forced to pepper spray him.

"Had you given him your permit from the very beginning we wouldn't be sitting here today, it would have never escalated," Hull said. "That's the thing. It's gotten to a point where everything is adversarial. When our guys deal with the drivers everything wants to be an argument. It doesn't have to be that way. Had you not been in that spot, guess what? Blake would have driven right by. He would never have interacted with you."

Shlosman said it is the abusive manner in which Hull's staff interacts with people and the director's apparent approval of their behavior that has allowed the situation to spiral out of control.

"What I'm trying to expose is that these guys are using dangerous force and their direct supervisor is aware of it and was aware of it prior to this incident taking place with Wendy Bosma," Shlosman said.

Haunted History Tours guide Bosma said she was assaulted by Taxicab Bureau Inspector Wilton Joiner around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 9 as she was talking to a group of 28 people outside the LaLaurie House near the corner of Gov. Nicholls and Royal streets.

Bosma said Joiner slammed her onto the hood of a car and twisted her arm behind her back until she gave him her tour license. The incident was caught on video by several people in Bosma's tour group.

Hull was present during Joiner's confrontation with Bosma but did nothing to stop it, according to several witnesses.

Joiner accused Bosma of violating an ordinance the requires tours groups to stay 50 feet apart, but witnesses said there wasn't another group in sight.

Joiner, who has been suspended by the city pending an investigation, faces a charge of simple battery after the police issued a warrant this week for his involvement in the Bosma incident. Joiner has yet to turn himself in.

Bosma, who was issued a citation by Joiner that recommended suspension of her license, is scheduled to appear before the Taxicab Bureau at 1:30 p.m. Friday (Nov. 22).

Members of the tour guide industry plan to protest on the steps of City Hall at 1 p.m. before Bosma's hearing.

This is not the first time Joiner and Blake have been accused of wrongdoing. Joiner, at the time an investigator with the city's Ground Transportation Bureau, was given a 60-day emergency suspension in June, 2011 for violating several policies including the "take-home car" policy.

Blake was arrested that same year in April, along with United Cab Co. executive Donald "Cornbread" Juneau, charged with an inspection-sticker scam. Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro declined charges against the men.

In 1996 Joiner was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery and illegal use of a weapon, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office records. Joiner pleaded guilty in 1997 for illegal use of a weapon and got a suspended two-year sentence.

Shlosman sent cease and desist letters to Hull, Joiner and Blake Oct. 28, 13 days before the incident with Bosma, saying he had affidavits from 15 tour guides with five different companies accusing the two investigators of misconduct "ranging from allegations of bribery and shakedowns to extreme harassment and intimidations." Shlosman said Hull never responded.